Sony to Continue Third-party Deals in 2016

In a recent interview with MCV, PlayStation Europe’s preident Jim Ryan emphasised how crucial co-marketing and exclusivity deals were to the company. Sony already has Street Fighter V locked down for next year, as well as timed access to Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC. They also have PlayStation exclusive missions in Destiny.

“We are going to be strong with games that we have developed and we will publish, but third-party partnerships will continue to be important to us,” he said. “The days of a platform-holder working in isolation are long gone.”

“It is a connected ecosystem and relationships with publishers operate on many levels,” Ryan added. “They will certainly continue to be really important in 2016.”

This stance supports PlayStation president Andrew House’s statements from earlier in the year, where he described the company’s first-party line-up as “a little sparse.” Sony still has new first-party titles hitting next year though, with No Man’s Sky, and Horizon: Zero Dawn.

Microsoft’s recent stance is the inverse, with Xbox boss Phil Spencer stating that he is more about investing in franchises that the company already owns. “I want to have strong third-party relations,” Spencer said “But paying for many third-party exclusives isn’t our long-term strategy.”